40-Year Metra Commuter has Nostalgic Last Ride

An Orland Park woman recently took her final Metra ride home after four decades of spending time on the rails.

Cathy Lia was just an Oak Lawn teenager when she started taking Metra to her job in downtown Chicago in 1972. The Orland Park resident stepped off a Metra train at the 80th Avenue station in Tinley Park for the last time last Wednesday. She was greeted by her husband, three shouting daughters and a handful of other relatives with flowers and posters as she ended her 40-year career as a commuter. Daughter Christine Pieper came in from Wayne, Ill., to greet her mom one last time, as did daughter Erin Johnson, who only had to come from Manhattan, Ill. “This was my last ride,” she said after getting hugs all around by her loving family. Lia is trading her job of 28 years at a Loop law firm for a position as baby sitter for her granddaughter …

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Carrie Frillman

5:17 pm on Monday, August 13, 2012

Thanks for commenting, Mrs. 406. And a hearty "Congratulations," to you, Cathy! Thank you for sharing your story with us :)   more ›

Metra Rehabs Train Cars, Adds Outlets

New cars will be fitted with electrical outlets, upgraded seats and working doors and toilets, according to a Tribune report.

Going mobile on Metra is going to become a lot easier these days. The Chicago Tribune reports that the company has recently refurbished 40 older cars, with 60 planned to be done by the end of the year and the entire fleet of 176 to be completed by 2016. Some of the new features include: According to the article, rehabbing each car costs approximately $650,000—which is funded by $115 million from the federal government. Compare that to nearly $3 million for a new car. Sign up for Tinley Park Patch breaking news alerts.  Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter. 

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Give Metra a Piece of Your Mind

Metra will host a public meeting to represent South Suburban Cook County at the Homewood Village Hall on July 19. Bring your thoughts and gripes.

For commuters with complaints about the Southland Metra stations, the day of reckoning is near. Are you a Tinley Park rider tired of foibles you may experience after hoppin' aboard at Oak Park Avenue or 80th Avenue? The time has come to let your voice be heard. Metra will lend an ear to the public Thursday, July 19, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., during a South Suburban Cook County strategic plan open house meeting at Homewood Village Hall. Those who would like to participate, but don't wish to attend the meeting are invited to fill out a survey on Metra's website.  

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Riding Metra during NATO? Security Says 'No' to Lattes, 'OK' to Breast Milk

Metra riders are prohibited from bringing coffee and face other restrictions on what they can carry on trains during the NATO summit. Breast milk, however, is okay.

As Chicago gears up for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit at McCormick Place, Metra has stepped up security throughout its rail system, including the Southwest and Rock Island lines. From May 19 through May 21, riders will face security screenings and restrictions on what they can carry on to trains while global leaders are in town for the NATO summit, Metra announced Monday. Sign up to receive Patch breaking news alerts. You may also want to ditch the latte. Riders will be prohibited from carrying food or beverages on the train, including coffee. However, breast milk can be carried on a train but is subject to inspection and should be declared if you’re being screened. Riders may also see increased police presence and perhaps …

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911 Audio: 'I Was Just Following my GPS' and Got 'Very Stuck' on Train Tracks

Police accused a man of DUI last weekend after he drove his Mitsubishi Galant onto a set of train tracks near downtown Tinley and got stuck. Listen to the accompanying 911 call, during which he tells police "I'm just trying to behave here."

Local police found a drunken man standing near his running vehicle and a stopped freight train after they were dispatched early Sunday to a set of train tracks in downtown Tinley Park. The train halted on the north railroad tracks likely because of the hazard, police said. Gary G. Schiffner, 43, was standing on the southern-most tracks in the 17400 block of Oak Park Avenue near his idle 1999 Mitsubishi Galant, which was facing westbound. Police said it was about 50 feet west of Oak Park Avenue. Schiffner phoned in a 911 call at 12:42 a.m., police said. "I'm in Joliet and my car is on the tracks," he tells the dispatcher, eventually saying he couldn't "steer out of my car" because "I'm too high." CLICK THE IMAGE WITH THIS ARTICLE TO LISTEN …

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Ongoing Work at 80th Avenue Metra Station Will Interrupt Commuter Routines

Phase two of construction at the 80th Avenue Metra Train Station is officially underway. Certain parking areas and entrances will be off limits to commuters, village officials said.

Commuters at the new 80th Avenue train station should note upcoming construction adjustments that could affect their daily routines. With phase two construction of the pedestrian underpass underway, the circular "kiss 'n ride" drop-off on the north side of the tracks and the pedestrian crossing closest to that area will be closed beginning Monday, April 16. Because pedestrians will be unable to access that crossing, they will be directed to two crossings on the east end of the north platform, according to a news release from the village of Tinley Park. Effective Thursday, April 12, the parking payment stations on the north side will be located at the entrance to the pedestrian walkway off the parking lot. The underpass is scheduled to be …

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End in Sight for Work at 80th Avenue Metra Station

Today is Customer Appreciation Day at the 80th Avenue Metra Station, where construction is—slowly but surely—coming to a close. We've got photos of the inside of the site's grand building, as well as info on when you can expect everything else to be done.

Tinley Park's 80th Avenue train station is finally open for business. Well, kind of. Today marks the end of the project's first phase of construction—completion of the 5,600 square-foot building that replaces a small 1,400 square-foot shelter built in 1978. An official grand opening for the site, including a unveiling of a sunken garden, pedestrian underpass and the highly-anticipated Veterans Plaza, is scheduled for November. READ: Village Invites Residents to Honor Veterans with Engraved Plaza Bricks But Thursday, village and Metra officials are on site until 9 a.m. handing out coffee and doughnuts in honor of "Commuter Appreciation Day," through which they strive to thank patient community members who have looked forward to using the …

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Business Comings 'n Goings

Business Comings & Goings: Metra Station to Open in Tinley Park

A look at new businesses coming into town and a fond farewell to those that have, for whatever reason, called it quits.

Tinley Park and Metra representatives will be handing out refreshments this week mark the opening of the new 80th Avenue Metra Rock Island Line Station. Commuter Appreciation Day, in honor of the new station, will begin at 5 a.m. March 22. The station serves about 2,400 daily commuters and features a clock tower, a great hall, a covered drop-off area and veranda, two restrooms and a fireplace. Work begins next week on a pedestrian underpass that is expected to be completed by the end of August. One feature of the new station that will not be ready by Thursday is the full kitchen and Internet café. The village has extended into April the deadline for vendors to apply to operate the kitchen and café. Anyone interested in running the café can…

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Carrie Frillman

10:56 am on Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Awesome! Claiming your listing allows you to upload photos, add events ... all kinds of neat stuff. Have some fun with it!   more ›

UPDATE: Death of Man Hit By Metra Train Ruled a Suicide

A Metra train stuck and killed a man Sunday night, within 1 mile of the Oak Forest station; the Cook County Medical Examiner's office has determined it a suicide.

The death of a man hit by a Metra train Sunday night in Oak Forest has been declared a suicide. The man's name is still being withheld pending family identification, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office said Monday. The Chicago-bound train struck the man shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday—a minute before it was due to roll into the Oak Forest station. Passengers recounted "a loud noise, and then the train started shakin'." The conductor warned passengers to return to their seats, as he feared they had struck a person. The incident, which occurred near 161st and Laramie Avenue, halted service on Metra's Rock Island line for almost two hours, with investigators and clean-up crews on the scene past 10 p.m. Check back with Patch for more news …

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UPDATED: Pedestrian Killed by Metra Train Within 1 Mile of Oak Forest Station

Updated at 10:30 p.m. Oak Forest Police are on the scene of a commuter train fatality near 167th Street.

A male pedestrian was pronounced dead Sunday night on Metra's Rock Island Line, less than 1 mile from the Oak Forest Train station. Officials declined to release the name of the victim, pending "next of kin notification," Metra Spokesman Tom Miller said around 9:45 p.m. The man was struck by a Chicago-bound train that was due to make a stop at the Oak Forest station at 6:56 p.m. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office declared the death a suicide Monday. Cleanup crews were still stationed around 10 p.m. near the intersection of Laramie Avenue and 161st Street. Seven people were waiting at that station for the hour and 24 minutes it took to get train No. 226 moving again. Outbound trains were similarly delayed—81 minutes, Miller said. …

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